Antecedentes

UN Women, grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, works for the elimination of discrimination against women and girls; the empowerment of women; and the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security. Placing women's rights at the centre of all its efforts, UN Women leads and coordinates United Nations system efforts to ensure that commitments on gender equality and gender mainstreaming translate into action throughout the world. It provides strong and coherent leadership in support of Member States' priorities and efforts, building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors.

UN Women Albania is implementing its Strategic Note (SN) 2022-2026, which aims to ensure that “All Women and girls enjoy and exercise their human rights in a gender equal society and meaningfully contribute to Albania’s sustainable and inclusive socio-economic development and EU integration”. To achieve such a result, UN Women will focus on three outcomes, which mirror verbatim the areas of focus of the United Nations Albania:

1. Increased and more equitable investment in people to remove barriers and create opportunities for those at risk of exclusion.

2. Innovative and integrated policy solutions that accelerate sustainable, productive and inclusive development.

3. Gender-responsive governance that strengthens equality and non-discrimination.

In Albania, the tourism sector is a major and continuously growing contributor to the country’s economic development. In the first nine months of 2023 over 8 million tourists visited Albania, more than double the number in 2022. While no in-depth studies were conducted on women in tourism, in line with international trends women are widely employed in the sector, (including in agro-tourism), many informally or as family workers. Women are also more impacted by security and safety both as employees as well as tourists. With the country aiming to become the next international tourist destination, there is no better time to strengthen gender mainstreaming in tourism. Global evidence shows that a high percentage of women workers in tourism does not necessarily translate in safe and decent jobs, adequate career opportunities, and equal wages. Promoting gender responsive tourism is therefore vital for achieving the country’s declared vision of “sustainable tourism” as part of its National Strategy on EU Integration and Sustainable Development 2022-2030.

In this context, the CO is engaging in targeted resource mobilization efforts on areas/sectors with highest potential for revenue-generating activities and for boosting women’s economic empowerment in Albania. The CO is piloting the initiative “Engender the consumption and offer of tourism services in Albania” leveraging seeds funds to further expand longer-term interventions in this area and increase donors’ support.

The initiative will support the achievement of the SN outcome 2 ‘By 2026, all persons benefit from, and contribute to, innovative and integrated policy solutions that accelerate sustainable, productive and inclusive development, enhanced climate change adaptation and mitigation and transition to a green and blue economy’ and will focus on the following deliverables:

• Country assessment of women in the tourism sector and review of related policy framework
• Support women-led business development, growth and gender championing, enlisting tour operators to pilot a gendered approach to tourism.
• Incubator of ideas for a feminist approach to tourism. Leveraging both the WEPs platform and the EXPO national network, the initiative will support various innovative ideas and applications to promote women-led entrepreneurship; feminist tourist communication; travel vloggers/bloggers offering a women perspective to tourism in Albania, and more.

The intervention will further support EU4GE/GEF approach as part of Albania’s EU accession process, through sector specific gender mainstreaming guidance and technical assistance and better interface between institutions and businesses in the sector.

In this context, UN Women Albania is seeking to recruit an international consultant with a track record of expertise in gender mainstreaming in the tourism sector and promote women in tourism. The incumbent will be expected to support UN Women in developing a detailed workplan for the intervention, defining entry-points and mapping stakeholders and specific regions in Albania that the intervention would target as well as provide technical advice throughout the implementation of the activities.

Deberes y responsabilidades

Under the supervision of the Head of Programme and relevant focal points in the programme team, the consultant is expected to contribute to the following areas/tasks:

• Develop a detailed workplan for the proposed components of the intervention;
• Design and conduct a stakeholder mapping to identify relevant actors in the field of gender equality and tourism sector in Albania;
• Identify target regions to conduct each component of the intervention;
• Lead the development of a country assessment of women in the tourism sector and review of related policy framework, comparing them with EU standards;
• Share best practices on women-led tourism business development, growth and gender championing, enlisting tour operators to pilot a gendered approach to tourism.
• Advise the UN Women team and local experts/contractors for the implementation of the above mentioned deliverables.
• Contribute to the reporting process for the activities.
• Support development of a concept note for further resource mobilization to take forward and expand the work through this pilot initiative.   

Expected deliverables:

• Workplan for the consultancy assignment and the proposed intervention including possible mission dates;
• Stakeholder mapping of relevant actors in the field of gender equality and tourism;
• List of suggested target regions where to conduct each component of the intervention;
• Inputs as part of the review of relevant policy frameworks related to gender and the tourism sector, including assessment of alignment with EU and international standards and relevant recommendations;
• Best practices document on women-led tourism practices in the Western Balkans and internationally;
• Concept note for a new project on gender and tourism building on the work of this project;
• Mission reports;
• At the end of the consultancy submit a final consultancy report (in English) describing the consultant’s completed deliverables, problems encountered while carrying out the consultancy and recommendations for future similar interventions.

Note:

• Technical inputs and other on-demand reports on specific initiatives will be reviewed and agreed with UN Women for quality assurance.
• Quality of relationships with partners is central to success and will be assessed by UN Women through the duration of the contract.
• UN Women will provide the Consultant with background materials related to the assignment.
• The consultant is expected to work using her/his own computer.

Duration:

The duration of the initial contract will be for an initial 30 working days for the period February 2024 until October 2025 (21 months).

Competencias

Core Values:

• Respect for Diversity
• Integrity
• Professionalism

Core Competencies:

• Creative Problem Solving
• Effective Communication
• Inclusive Collaboration
• Stakeholder Engagement
• Leading by Example

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Core Values and Competencies: https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/About%20Us/Employment/UN-Women-values-and-competencies-framework-en.pdf

Functional Competencies:

• Proven research, analytical and drafting skills,
• Demonstrated ability to interact effectively with various public and non-public stakeholders including in the areas of human rights, gender equality, social inclusion;
• Excellent writing skills in English;
• Strong interpersonal skills;
• Strong initiative-taking;
• Focuses on impact and results for the partner;
• Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude.

Habilidades y experiencia requeridas

Academic Qualifications/Education

• Advanced university degree in social sciences, development studies, gender studies, toursim studies, economic, business management or similar discipline

Work Experience

• At least 10 years of professional experience working on gender equality, women’s economic empowerment and gender mainstreaming;
• At least 5 years of experience in sustainable tourism and conducting analysis/research on gender perspective in tourism sector, preferably in the Western Balkans;
• Expertise in EU and international GE policy objectives relevant for the tourism sector;
• Previous experience with international organisations would be considered an advantage.

Language requirement

• Proficiency in written and spoken English.

Scope of Price Proposal and Schedule of Payments:

• Financial Proposal specifying a total lump sum amount for the tasks specified in this Terms of Reference). The financial proposal shall include a breakdown of the lump sum amount into daily fee, travel and accommodation costs in Albania for two 5-day missions to Tirana any other possible costs). Please note that the financial proposal is all-inclusive and shall take into account various expenses incurred by the consultant during the contract period (e.g. fee and any other relevant expenses related to the performance of services
• Payment will be made as per the payment schedule in the contract upon (i) satisfactory completion of tasks; (ii) provision of deliverables specified in the ToRs; (iii) submission of and approval by UN Women of final draft; and (iv) submission of the certification of payment.

Recommended Presentation of Offer:

Qualified and interested candidates are required to apply online:

• A Letter of Confirmation of Interest including a brief description explaining why the individual considers her/himself as the most suitable for the assignment.
• Completed and signed UN Women Personal History Form (P11) that can be downloaded at link: UN Women Personal History Form (P11).
• Financial Proposal specifying a daily fee and total amount (lumpsum) in USD for the tasks specified in this assignment, following the instructions under the above section on Scope of Price Proposal and Schedule of Payments.

NOTE: APPLICATIONS WITHOUT THE FINANCIAL OFFER WILL BE TREATED AS INCOMPLETE AND WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED FOR FURTHER ASSESSMENT.

Evaluation of applicants:

Candidates will be evaluated using a cumulative analysis method taking into consideration the combination of the applicants’ qualifications and financial proposal. Contract will be awarded to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

• Responsive/compliant/acceptable; and
• Having received the highest score out of below defined technical and financial criteria.

Technical Evaluation –70 points:

• Advanced university degree in social sciences, development studies, gender studies, tourism studies, economics, business management or similar discipline (10 points)

• At least 10 years of professional experience working on gender equality, women’s economic empowerment and gender mainstreaming (25 points);

• At least 5 years of experience in sustainable tourism and conducting analysis/research on gender perspective in tourism sector, preferably in the Western Balkans (20 points);
• Expertise in EU and international GE policy objectives relevant for the tourism sector (10 points);
• Previous similar experience with international organisations would be considered an advantage (5 points).

Financial Evaluation – 30 points

• Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 70% (49 points) in the technical evaluation would be considered for financial evaluation.
• The maximum number of points assigned to the financial proposal is allocated to the lowest price proposal. All other price proposals receive points in inverse proportion. The calculation formula applied is as follow:

p = 30 (µ/z); where: p = points for the financial proposal being evaluated; µ = price of the lowest priced proposal; z = price of the proposal being evaluated.

How to Submit the Application: To submit your application online, please follow the steps below:

• Download and complete the UN Women Personal History Form (P11) https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/2022-07/UN-Women-P11-Personal-History-Form-en.doc
• Merge your UN Women Personal History Form (P11), the Financial Proposal, and Cover Letter into a single file. The system does not allow for more than one attachment to be uploaded;
• Click on the Job Title (job vacancy announcement);
• Click 'Apply Now' button, fill in necessary information on the first page, and then click 'Submit Application;'
• Upload your application/single file as indicated above with the merged documents (underlined above);
• You will receive an automatic response to your email confirming receipt of your application by the system.

Notes: 

• UN Women retains the right to contact references directly. Due to the large numbers of applications, we receive, we can inform only the successful candidates about the outcome or status of the selection process. 
• Applications without the financial offer will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment. 
• The individual consultants should take the mandatory learning security course prior to commencement of assignment– details will follow before the issuance of contract. 

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 If you need any reasonable accommodation to support your participation in the recruitment and selection process, please include this information in your application.   UN Women has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UN Women, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination.  All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to UN Women’s policies and procedures and the standards of conduct expected of UN Women personnel and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. (Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.)